In its quest to further boost the standard of financial education in Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc. is to partner the CFA Society Nigeria to sponsor the CFA Institute Research Challenge in Nigeria.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is the world’s most prestigious investment research competition among university students globally, aimed at promoting best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts.
The competition promotes ethics and best practices in investment research through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in equity analysis and presentation. The overall objective of the CFA Institute Research Challenge is to provide university students with valuable real-world exposure to the practice of finance to complement the theoretical framework of the university education.
Nigeria is participating in the global competition for the first time and has eight Nigerian universities from across the country participating in this maiden edition. The participating universities are: Ahmadu Bello University, Babcock University, Covenant University, Lagos Business School, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Abuja, University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos.
The teams are required to conduct a detailed investment research on a subject company and will be presenting their research reports to a high-level panel of investment professionals who will serve as judges with the winner of the 2017/2018 CFA Institute Research Challenge in Nigeria emerging at a national final scheduled for February 2018 at the Civic Centre, Lagos.
The national champion from Nigeria will then join 35 other national champions at the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regional Competition in Dublin, Ireland in April 2018 to compete for a slot in the four-team global final that will hold in Seoul, South Korea in the same month.
On the partnership, the bank said it was proud to sponsor the CFA Institute Research Challenge in Nigeria and that as an institution that strongly believes in the development of human capital, it was one of the ways it could contribute to the development of education in Nigeria.
It added that by partnering with an institution like the CFA Society Nigeria to run this competition, it believes this would go a long way in promoting global best practices among young Nigerian students.
Zenith, Nigeria’s largest bank by Tier-1 capital, has youth development at the core of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and has sponsored similar initiatives in the educational sector.
Also speaking on the partnership with Zenith Bank, Banji Fehintola, CFA, President of the CFA Society Nigeria said, “CFA Society Nigeria is very excited to secure a multi-year sponsorship from Zenith Bank for this important mandate of our university outreach program.
“CFA Society Nigeria is primarily focused on improving the level of professionalism, ethics and investment knowledge in our industry and our university competitions enable us to invest in the development of the next generation of investment professionals. We are very pleased with Zenith Bank’s partnership in helping us to achieve our mutual agenda of contributing towards the development of our educational system and the investment industry in Nigeria,” he added.
Commenting on the benefits of the competitions to participating teams, Chairman of CFA Society Nigeria’s University Relations Committee, Razaq Ahmed, CFA, added that “each team is paired with an experienced industry mentor in addition to a Faculty Adviser from each university who provide specific guidance to the teams.”
“The teams are also provided free access to research resources such as Bloomberg terminals and online library. It is a huge opportunity for Nigerian students to develop relevant hands-on skills set, explore career choices, get mentorship from experienced investment professionals and interact and compete with their colleagues from across the world,” he said.
The competition provides university students with an opportunity to foster lifelong relationships with the investment industry as students get introduced to investment professionals who act as their mentors, peers from other universities and companies involved in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.
Furthermore, by working in teams and with industry mentors, the competition helps students to develop critical interpersonal skills needed in the investment management industry alongside much needed networking opportunities with finance professionals. The winners of the competition stand the chance to embark on international travels, win CFA Society Nigeria’s access scholarships and prizes, and be taken as interns with Zenith Bank Plc. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is organized in Nigeria by CFA Society of Nigeria.
